A couple of residents of a rich Santa Barbara County neighborhood are as soon as once more making an attempt to make it troublesome for the general public to entry its fashionable trails and scorching springs.
In line with a letter despatched by the county’s public works division, SFGate reported, at the least six Montecito residents had been ordered to take away boulders and crops obstructing public parking areas utilized by hikers on East Mountain Drive and Riven Rock Street. The letters went to properties close to the favored Montecito Scorching Springs trailhead. Guests park on the general public streets subsequent to residents’ homes there as soon as the small trailhead parking space fills up.
The county despatched out comparable letters to residents about obstructing the general public right-of-way on East Mountain Drive in 2022, SFGate reported.
The division despatched the letters on March 18, ordering residents to take away the obstructions by March 28. Public works warned the residents of civil litigation or legal prosecution if they didn’t comply, together with fines and penalties totaling $850 per day. Santa Barbara County public works didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
If Montecito residents wish to do landscaping on a public right-of-way legally, owners might apply for an encroachment allow, in response to the general public works’ letter. Many properties within the space are on massive properties and aren’t seen from the road.
Michael Healy, a resident who lives close to the trailhead, stated he believes the general public works division is making an attempt to succeed in an settlement with residents about defending the parking areas. Automobiles parked on the aspect of the road pose a possible security threat, as they may block the trail for emergency autos or an evacuation, he added.
The median residence value in Montecito is slightly below $7.5 million, in response to Redfin information. A few of Montecito’s residents embody Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
The obstructions in Montecito aren’t the primary case of wealthier Californians trying to dam public areas.
Earlier this 12 months, owners within the Bay Space put up a chain-link fence to dam entry to the seaside, regardless of $4.7 million in fines from authorities. The fence blocked off a walkway behind a quarter-mile stretch of beachfront condos in Santa Cruz County. In 2023, Malibu residents had been penalized for obscuring entry to a public seaside.
